Mehtab Bagh

Mehtab Bagh looking north (2009)

Old bird's eye view of the Taj complex with the Mehtab Bagh at the top across the river Yamuna (18th century)

Plan of the Taj complex with the Mehtab Bagh gardens to the left

Mehtab Bagh (Hindi: मेहताब बाग़, Urdu: ماہتاب باغ, translation: Moonlight Garden), is a charbagh located to the north of the Taj Mahal complex, across the Yamuna River.

History

It was designed as an integral part of the complex in the riverfront terrace pattern seen elsewhere in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. Its width is identical to that of the rest of the Taj. The garden historian Elizabeth Moynihan suggests the large octagonal pool in the centre of the terrace would reflect the image of the Mausoleum and thus the garden would provide a setting to view the Taj Mahal. The garden has been beset by flooding from the river since Mughal times. As a result, the condition of the remaining structures is quite ruinous. Four sandstone towers marked the corners of the garden, only the south-eastward one remains. The foundations of two structures remain immediately north and south of the large pool which were probably garden pavilions. From the northern structure a stepped waterfall would have fed the pool. The garden to the north has the typical square, cross-axial plan with a square pool in its centre. To the west an aqueduct fed the garden.

See also

• Agra Fort
• Itmad-Ud-Daulah
• Chini Ka Rauza
• Ram Bagh

Sources

• http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_tktd_up_mehtabbagh.asp
• http://www.india-today.com/itoday/20000807/heritage.html

External links

• The Herbert Offen Research Collection of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum